General dentistry

This 12-month Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program provides advanced education and clinical experience to prepare dental school graduates for a career in the practice of comprehensive general dentistry. Graduates of the AEGD program will have attained added competency and confidence in all areas of dental care, practice management and professional responsibility. This program also provides residents with meaningful experiences in the delivery of dental care to diverse populations and people at high risk for dental disease.

The School of Dentistry is committed to advanced dental education. Residents will receive hands-on experience with diagnostic and therapeutic care of special patient populations in addition to extensive training in the art and science of general dentistry.

The program conforms with the Standards for Advanced Specialty Education in General Dentistry and carries a full approval status from the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

Program goals and objectives

Upon completion of this program, the AEGD resident should be able to:

Act as a primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. This includes providing emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care; providing patient-focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner; directing health promotion and disease prevention activities; and using advanced dental treatment modalities.

Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients, including patients with special needs.

Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.

Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care. This includes using critical thinking, evidence or outcome-based clinical decision making and technology-based information retrieval systems.

Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient-centered care, adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.

Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.

Facilities and resources

The VCU School of Dentistry facilities are housed in the Perkinson, Wood Memorial and Lyons buildings and contain clinical facilities, research facilities, classrooms, student laboratories, departmental offices and a computer learning laboratory. The laboratories and classrooms contain closed-circuit television receivers. The Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, the largest health science library in Virginia, is located across the street from the School of Dentistry.

Application

This program participates in the American Dental Education Association Postdoctoral Application Support Service program. The program deadline for application through PASS is Oct. 1. Applicants are not required to take the Advanced Dental Admissions Test for the 2017-2018 application cycle.

Eligibility and selection

Dental graduates from U.S. institutions accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation who have passed Part I of the National Dental Board Examination are eligible to apply for the AEGD program. Successful completion of Part II and eligibility for licensure in Virginia are required prior to admittance to the program.

Selection criteria include didactic and clinical achievements, extramural experience, interpersonal skills and a demonstrated commitment to pursue a career in general dentistry. Every effort is made to recruit qualified minority dentists and dentists from health professional shortage areas or dentists who profess a desire to serve in these areas.

The AEGD Admissions Committee, consisting of the program director and AEGD faculty, will screen all applicants, inviting the most promising candidates for personal interviews. Personal interviews commence in mid-October. Candidates will interview individually with the committee and meet with current residents and staff. A formal evaluation process is followed, and selected candidates will be offered positions after all interviews have been completed.

Professional liability

The commonwealth of Virginia self-insurance program provides professional liability (malpractice) coverage, subject to policy limits, for advanced dental education students. Coverage includes professional service on duty within the institution and professional service on assigned duties in one of the affiliated hospitals or programs. It does not cover any other professional service, e.g. moonlighting activities at other facilities or institutions.